There’s a opportunity for Marcus Smart to step up and show his potential this season.

There will still be a number zero taking the floor for the Boston Celtics this season, but the man wearing that jersey will not be named Avery Bradley. With Bradley’s departure, a gaping hole has opened in the Boston starting lineup.

Now I fully expect that spot to be filled with various players of the course of the season depending on matchups and opponents, but one man that will be a major part of that mix is fourth-year guard, Marcus Smart.

During his three years in Boston, Smart has been a mixed bag, to say the least. His defense and hustle are what you hope each and every player brings when they step onto the court. However, his offensive game has been as rocky as Balboa.

His overall game has progressed each year, but the same cannot be said about his shooting. His best shooting season from downtown and overall was in his rookie season in 2014-15. During that season he shot 36.7% overall and 33.5% from deep. This past season those numbers were only 35.9% and 28.3% respectively.

There’s still time for Smart to improve his shooting, but after what he’s shown so far in his career, do we really expect him to turn into a big offensive weapon? I don’t think so. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be a big part of Boston’s offense this upcoming season.

With Smart entering the last year of his rookie deal, Boston is going to be faced with a decision over the next 11 months. Do they sign Smart long-term, trade him, or let him walk in free agency? As we stand today that’s a difficult question to answer. You know what would help Boston’s hierarchy in making that decision? Unleashing Smart this season.

Now I’m not saying that Brad Stevens should let him take 20 shots a game or anything. With Smart’s percentages, that’d be an insane thing to do. But the Celtics are never truly going to know what type of player Smart can be unless they let him show them what he can do when the reins are loosened.

Smart is a strong, explosive guard that has a knack for getting to the rim in a hurry. However, a lot of times he settles for the outside shot instead of driving. That needs to stop. I’m not saying he shouldn’t shoot a perimeter jumper ever again but with his strength and quickness, Smart needs to be taking it to the hole.

The more he gets to the free throw line the better. That’s the one shooting area where he’s vastly improved in. After shooting just 64.6% during his rookie season, his free throw percentage has risen each of the last two years from 64.6% to 77.7% to 81.2% last season.

Having the ball in Smart’s hands doesn’t only benefit him, it benefits Isaiah Thomas and Gordon Hayward as well. Those are the two guys Boston needs to score a lot of points this season. Both are great at creating their own shots, but wouldn’t it be great if they could get some open shots from defenses collapsing on Smart when he drives? That answer is a resounding yes.

Last season Smart averaged 10.6 points on 9.5 shots in 30.4 minutes per game. All three of those numbers should go up this season. Not dramatically, but definitely increase some. If Marcus can score 14-15 points per game while chipping in around five rebounds and five assists per game, he’ll prove to Boston’s brainpower that he can be a big part of the plan moving forward.

If Smart has the type of season I just mentioned, then I think Boston would be better off signing him and letting Thomas walk. Before you show up at my front door with flaming torches and pitch forks, hear me out. Like I’ve mentioned before, small players like Thomas have limited shelf lives in the NBA. Allen Iverson started breaking down in his early 30’s and Thomas will turn 30 half way through the first season of his next contract.

On the other hand, Smart is about six years younger and is still getting better. Not to mention, it won’t take a max contract to sign him like it will with Thomas. Is Smart going to be as valuable of a player as Thomas? No, probably not. But the money you’d save by signing Smart would greatly benefit the rest of the roster.

In the end, we don’t know how this is going to play out until the spring. In the meantime though, Boston needs to unleash Smart and let him show everyone what he’s capable of. Regardless if Boston signs him long-term, trades him, or lets him walk, unleashing him this season will help make that decision a whole heck of a lot easier.

bobMY NOTE: It's summertime, it's amateur hour. This author put a lot of effort into "cuteness" searching for sayings like "wicked Smaht" and "rocky as Balboa" but otherwise it read, to me, like a cha-cha, two steps forward, two steps back, until he got to the point where he said we should let IT go if Smart has the type of season he is talking about. Then he just got on a express train to Hell. Not because IT is SO untouchable, but the suggestion that anything that Marcus Smart could possibly do this year would result in the reasonable release of Thomas is complete nonsense. Thomas cannot play defense like Smart and Smart isn't in IT's league on offense. Smart is an ok driver, but he isn't IT. He isn't even Rozier. He is an excellent post-up player, which this author overlooked, so I expect to see Brad do more inside-out offensive sets with Marcus Smart in the low-post either brutalizing someone or kicking out to a more effective perimeter shooting team (despite the loss of Bradley) with Horford, Hayward, Tatum, an improved Jaylen Brown and maybe even 42+% college 3 Semi Ojelaye bombing away from range.

As far as the comparison of IT to AI goes, yeah, AI did decline from 31-34. He dropped all the way down to 21ppg, which would still qualify him for the All-Star game. People either forget how unstoppable he was or they see his decline and lose sight of how he still was better than 90% of the league. He also had played 37,584 minutes, not including playoffs. IT has only played 13,214 so far, not including playoffs (IT has been in the league 7 years and has played more than 2000 minutes/year 4x. Even if you ignore AI's last year where he only played a total of 865 minutes he still averaged 2349 minutes/season over 16 seasons). If he averages 2600 minutes/year here on out (his highest total was 2644 in 2015-2016 for Boston, 2569 last year) then by the time he's 34 he will have played 31.414 regular season minutes, total, as opposed to AI's 37k+. That's over 2 full seasons of more minutes for AI at the same age and that's a lot.

On another note, I wonder if Marcus Smart has finally gotten used to the New England accent and "Mahcus Smaht"?

Hey Bob, While your "My Note"s are insightful they aren't often so vastly superior to the article itself. The "too cute" comment is certainly right on With the roster that Danny has assembled I expect Marcus will get around the same minutes or even a little less. For me, almost all of his value is involved with bringing in extreme hustle and dynamic defense. He's going to get minutes as a ball handler, we only have four. I'm clearly not the biggest IT fan but it is ludicrous to suggest that Smarts play would hasten the departure of Thomas. If half of what the author suggests happens, then Smart is a leading candidate for Most Improved Player. I hope that he does significantly improve his offense but he is going downhill on offensive numbers, not showing improvement. GoodjobBob!

Smart will be who he is. A tough defender that is offensively challenged.

When he hits a three point shot there will be a collective. "Gee he made it."

He is up for a raise after this season and Danny will be looking to move him before then. This is his last year with the Celtics.

My reasoning is that he will never be a solid offensive player because he cannot put the 3 ball in the hole. He is not going to improve measurably. He is not a high end point guard to run an offense where his offensive woes could be overlooked. He is exactly who I though he was coming out of college and another questionable draft lottery pick by Danny Ainge that came into the NBA as a challenged shooter and has proven to be a challenged shooter.

If the Celtics want to get better they have to shoot the ball better (for those that favor offense over defense)

My hope is that Jaylen Brown does not become a shooter like Jeff Green. And I hope that Jason Tatum's mid-range game is good enough to compensate for his below average shooting from distance. I also hope that Terry Rozier will replicate his 2017 playoff 3 point shooting and not his dreadful season numbers

If the Boston Celtics truly want to compete with the elite teams in this league they simply must become a better 3 point shooting team.

The Celtics are not likely to resign Marcus Smart unless he shoots the ball much much better this year. It is unlikely that he will shoot the ball much better this year therefore it is very likely that he will not get a new contract.

I agree with bobheckler. I found the article amateurish. I like bob`s " my notes " too. I don`t always agree, but they are much more focused and fact-based than a lot of the Fansided type articles floating around the net. There was one the other day listing the 25 ( or something like that) better players than Lebron. Iverson was first . Tracy McGrady. WAS 3RD OR 4th. That was as far as I made it.

Hope you dont take this personally D - but for some reason, I am finding myself disagreeing with you often. Maybe it is the definitive way you state things - but again, just a difference of opinion and not me looking for an argument in any way.

I dont care if he starts or finishes games - Marcus Smart is the type of guy I want on my team. He plays hard, he plays with heart, he makes winning plays and never backs down. Time and time again over his career, he has come into games when the team was sluggish and turned the tide.

Championship teams find a way to keep players like Marcus - he is Bruce Bowen, James Posey, Udonis Haslem type player who is much better than the sum of his parts.

If he is willing to play for 10 to 12 million per year, he absolutely has a chance to stick here in Boston.

If Marcus Smart does not improve his fg%'s he will basically be a Tony Allen type player with a better handle, he can still help us and if he doesn't ask for a near max type of contract, or get that contract from someone else he could have a home here as a very impactful combo guard coming off the bench.

The article was poor, but I fully expect for the Cs to unleash Smart at some time this next season. I am guessing that he improves once again in this off season and those results will be seen before Christmas. Then it will only take an injury or a slump for Stevens to turn to Smart.

Cow,

I liked your analogy to Tony Allen, but I think that Smart is already more valuable than Allen ever was while with the Cs. It begins with his better ball handling as you mentioned, but goes way beyond just the ball handling. Smart, in only his third year, has been called out by Stevens many times for doing so much more than playing defense. I fully agree with the coach's thoughts, but never saw Allen do much more than his super defense. Of course, I do not have the tapes of Allen in action, but do not remember him as a leader or an instigator like Smart has become well before his fourth season

Good points wide, while we are in agreement that he has a game similar to Tony Allen, I actually think TA's defense was better, TA might have been the only player that could cover Kobe at his peak with no help and Kobe's fg% would always be off. I still love Smarts intangibles and hopefully this year he puts it all together.

Smart has to become a more efficient scorer. Period. In a game that is moving more and more to the perimeter and more and more offensively-oriented we cannot afford to have a player that plays 30.4mpg, like Smart did last year, and who shoots 35.9% from the field and 28.3% from 3. He has to be the #1 worst shooter in the league. That might be ok if he was just playing rotation minutes, 15-20/game, but he's playing starter minutes.

He has leadership skills. He is a one-man wrecking crew on defense and can play 3-4 positions. There is lots to like about his game but there are two sides to the ball and if you want to justify 30mpg you have to play both of them OR just be SO damn good on one side you cannot live without them. IT is an example of that. NOT a good defender, to say the least, but he is SO effective on offense he makes that whole thing go. We saw what happened when IT was injured last year, during the regular season and the playoffs. We fell apart because our offense disappeared. Would our defense fall apart if Marcus Smart was traded? No, especially not with the signs of defensive emergence by Jaylen Brown (on bigger players) and Terry Rozier (on quicker players).

I'm rooting for Smart, not just because he's in green, but because I love his ferocity and throwback style of physical hard-nosed defense. He's my type of player, but I have to see the improvement on the other side of the ball. Pass-first point guards aren't in favor anymore. Pass-first-can't-shoot point guards are called Rajon Rondo, and look what has happened to his career. He's bouncing around because he can only fit in on a team of high-quality shooters that will take advantage of his passing skills and offset the weakness of his shooting. Marcus Smart is in danger of becoming a Rajon Rondo-like point guard but not anywhere near as good as Rondo on passing.

This is a big year for Smart. At the end of this year he becomes a restricted free agent. He is going to have to justify the bigger contract. I'm not asking for him to suddenly become a prolific scorer, that isn't going to happen, but if I were to set a minimum standard I need to see from him I guess I'd say I need to see him shoot 40% overall. I do not think that's asking too much. If he can't do it because the 3-ball is a big part of his game then he needs to take fewer 3s, but I need to see him not suck our offense down into the abyss with 3-13 nights. The qualifying offer to keep him, btw, is $6,053,718.

I agree that I think that Smart has to be able to shoot 40% as a fourth year NBA player. Such an improvement will do much to help our scoring totals as a team and, of course, his own totals.

The team will benefit by about five points (maybe even six points) per game if Smart can get his shooting percentage up to 40%. Not a lot of points, but still enough to win a few games during the season even if everything else in a game remains constant. Lots of very close games in the NBA that a seemingly measly five points can change.

Regarding your thoughts on taking fewer threes to get the shooting percentage up, I really cannot blame Smart as much as I blame Stevens. Stevens runs the team and if shots need to be limited he needs to limit them. Once he does, they will be limited. Shooters at every level should probably not have unlimited shots from everywhere on the court.

Here is a rule that I have used with my high school guys who like to shoot the three ball----as soon as you miss two in a row you are one more miss from being done with threes for the night. make the next one and you can shoot again with the same miss two in a row limitations. Statistically, what this does is it keeps each kid basically shooting in at least the 20-33% range during most games if they can at least make one. If they end up missing their first three they are done so we never get to the situation where a guy is 0 for 6 etc because if he is 0 for 3 he is done shooting the long ball unless it has to be a "throw" at the rim from deep at the end of any particular quarter and also we do not have games where any one guy is 1 for 5 very often. Certainly, the 0-3 and 1-5 are not 30%, but we know that said guys will not be shooting any more threes that night within our offensive schemes.

I realize that our expectations of about 30% is not a great shooting percentage, but our guys are still only in high school and 30% is still better than Smart's 26%.

More thoughts relating to your post. Smart is a far better defender than Rondo ever was and even if he (Smart) still shoots less than 40% he is still well worth his qualifying offer tab.

Last edited by wideclyde on Tue Aug 08, 2017 1:38 pm; edited 1 time in total

I agree that I think that Smart has to be able to shoot 40% as a fourth year NBA player. Such an improvement will do much to help our scoring totals as a team and, of course, his own totals.

The team will benefit by about five points (maybe even six points) per game if Smart can get his shooting percentage up to 40%. Not a lot of points, but still enough to win a few games during the season even if everything else in a game remains constant. Lots of very close games in the NBA that a seemingly measly five points can change.

Regarding your thoughts on taking fewer threes to get the shooting percentage up, I really cannot blame Smart as much as I blame Stevens. Stevens runs the team and if shots need to be limited he needs to limit them. Once he does, they will be limited. Shooters at every level should probably not have unlimited shots from everywhere on the court.

Here is a rule that I have used with my high school guys who like to shoot the three ball----as soon as you miss two in a row you are one more miss from being done with threes for the night. make the next one and you can shoot again with the same miss two in a row limitations. Statistically, what this does is it keeps each kid basically shooting in at least the 25-35% range during most games if they can at least make one. If they end up missing their first three they are done so we never get to the situation where a guy is 0 for 6 etc because if he is 0 for 3 he is done shooting the long ball unless it has to be a "throw" at the rim from deep at the end of any particular quarter and also do not have games where any one guy is 1 for 5 very often. Certainly, the 0-3 and 1-5 are not 30%, but we know that said guys will not be shooting any more threes that night within our offensive schemes.

I realize that our expectations of about 30% is not a great shooting percentage, but our guys are still only in high school and 30% is still better than Smart's 26%.

More thoughts relating to your post. Smart is a far better defender than Rondo ever was and even if he (Smart) still shoots less than 40% he is still well worth his qualifying offer tab.

Clyde,

We are projected by ESPN to win 49.2 games this year, down from the 53 we actually did win last year, despite the additions of Hayward and Tatum. One of the primary reasons cited is that it is believed, in the opinion of the ESPN pundits, that we overachieved because of our skimpy 2.6 Margin of Victory. In other words, we won more nail-biters than our share and didn't have enough blowout wins. Personally, this perspective baffles me a bit. Winning nail-biters is a far more effective character-building event than winning in a laugher, but their opinion is their opinion. My point, however, is that 5-6 more point from Smart (I'm taking your word for those numbers) without any increase in fga is NOT an insignificant enhancement, it is QUITE significant.

I wonder what our projected win total would be if our average Margin of Victory was 7.6, or even 8.6, instead of 2.6? Higher than 53, I'd bet.

When it comes to shooting the below stat chart points out Smarts short comings thus far as a shooter - that's the bad news - the good news is that he can only go up in rankings. Based on guard and guard forward players that have averaged at least 28.4 minutes per career games and at least 3 3pt fga per game. Covers the 3pt era starting in 1979. Ranking based on EFG.

mrkleen09 wrote:Hope you dont take this personally D - but for some reason, I am finding myself disagreeing with you often. Maybe it is the definitive way you state things - but again, just a difference of opinion and not me looking for an argument in any way.

I dont care if he starts or finishes games - Marcus Smart is the type of guy I want on my team. He plays hard, he plays with heart, he makes winning plays and never backs down. Time and time again over his career, he has come into games when the team was sluggish and turned the tide.

Championship teams find a way to keep players like Marcus - he is Bruce Bowen, James Posey, Udonis Haslem type player who is much better than the sum of his parts.

If he is willing to play for 10 to 12 million per year, he absolutely has a chance to stick here in Boston.

Kleen

No problem disagreeing with me because it is important for me to see a counter argument. I do agree that Smart brings intangibles to the game. However he has not been capable of improving his offense. He is a career 36% shooter from the field and a hideous 29% shooter from behind the arc. There has to be a marked improvement in those numbers for him to get a new contract with Boston.

The Celtics are loaded with young talent on this team and given all the future 1st rounders yet to be drafted there may not be room on the team for Marcus. He played starter minutes but I think Rozier is a better option at backup Point Guard and Brown is a better option at backup shooting guard.

Every summer we have read about how hard Marcus is working to improve his shooting. This is year 4 for him and it is a make it or break it year. If he does not become a better offensive player I maintain that he will not be on the team next year. There are too many more talented guys waiting in the wings to take his minutes.

If I said that I think Marcus will be measurably better on offense I would be lying. I hope that I am wrong but I think I am right about this.

My take on this is there is only one ball - and Marcus wont be expected to shoot it much as the players around him improve. He is a proven distributor who consistently makes good decisions. A fair amount of his bad shooting comes at the end of the shot clock, and with better players around him and an increased tempo - he will get stuck with less shots late in the clock.

If Marcus does the dirty work, plays the best player on the other team, rebounds, dives for loose balls, and generally gives it his best every night - his shooting % tells only a small part of the story. Last season, he was the Celtics' leader in total loose balls recovered and deflections. He leads Boston in contested 3-point shots and, among the team's guards, he is tops in contested shots overall.

And Brad Stevens and his teammates trust him

“...I don’t even really think about it (his shooting %),” Stevens said. “I just want him to continue being a leader and being contagious and competing and his savvy’s really, really good and we’ve talked about that since he’s been here. He’s got an understanding and instincts that are just really special.”

I dont think he will ever be a star in the NBA by any means, but winning teams need winning players and you can’t teach effort, intensity, or heart. He makes 4.5 million this year and even if you triple that he is a bargain in the modern NBA - there is always room for a guy like Smart on my team.

Again I respect the varying opinions but I just do not agree with them.

I just do not see Boston giving him a new contract based on his god awful shooting.

35% from the field has to be one of the worse shooting percentages in the NBA.

As a ball handler he is very average. he really is not particularly quick for a PG and struggles from both distance as well as driving to the rim. On defense he cannot check the quick PG's in the league. His passing is OK but I have seen nothing that indicates h is an extraordinary passer.

He fights like hell on the glass, hustles for loose balls, etc. All the energy plays he makes.

But he cannot shoot so he has to go and be replaced by someone that has better all around skills.

I have been very consistent in my evaluation of players. If you cannot make the 3 ball I do not want to see you on the Celtics. I am not giving you a raise.

Every single draft pick is evaluated the same way by me. They can either shoot or they cannot shoot. I am a believer that players get to the NBA and do not all of a sudden become great shooters.

That is definitely one reason why i was against drafting Sullinger, Olynyk, Smart, Rozier, Young, Hunter, Brown and Tatum.

The way i see it is that if you are not a knock down shooter in college you are less likely to be a knock down shooter in the pros especially since the 3 point line is further out. I am a strong believer that shooting is a skill that some players have and some players do not. It is in fact a skill that is apparent at a very young age. I am praying that that some player proves me wrong and I hope that player is Brown.

To me Smart is just another player in a long line of players drafted by the Celtics that were very deficient offensive players.

He is in his 4th year and I see no clear evidence that his shooting will improve. For those that feel that skill is not important go watch some Golden State warriors games.

This is a contract year for Smart so he has to play well or he will be gone. He has to show some offensive upside!

mrkleen09 wrote:My take on this is there is only one ball - and Marcus wont be expected to shoot it much as the players around him improve. He is a proven distributor who consistently makes good decisions. A fair amount of his bad shooting comes at the end of the shot clock, and with better players around him and an increased tempo - he will get stuck with less shots late in the clock.

If Marcus does the dirty work, plays the best player on the other team, rebounds, dives for loose balls, and generally gives it his best every night - his shooting % tells only a small part of the story. Last season, he was the Celtics' leader in total loose balls recovered and deflections. He leads Boston in contested 3-point shots and, among the team's guards, he is tops in contested shots overall.

And Brad Stevens and his teammates trust him

“...I don’t even really think about it (his shooting %),” Stevens said. “I just want him to continue being a leader and being contagious and competing and his savvy’s really, really good and we’ve talked about that since he’s been here. He’s got an understanding and instincts that are just really special.”

I dont think he will ever be a star in the NBA by any means, but winning teams need winning players and you can’t teach effort, intensity, or heart. He makes 4.5 million this year and even if you triple that he is a bargain in the modern NBA - there is always room for a guy like Smart on my team.

I couldn't agree more. So what if he does improve a lot or a little? Then gets rewarded and goes right back to his present standards . Many on here will then bitch about that. He's never gonna get a max deal here or anywhere. I and apparently you mrkleen are not worried about his shooting. Sure I'd like to see it be better but I'd like to have a new vehicle ( mine has 210,000 miles on it) or say a nice trip to Hawaii. Neither of those are happening as Smarts shooting may be just what it is. Each year since he was drafted we have gotten better. And so what if ESPN says we'll win less games? (From another threat). Who now is believing them when in the recent past they have been very wrong. And many on here have gone off on them for various things multiple times.

mrkleen09 wrote:My take on this is there is only one ball - and Marcus wont be expected to shoot it much as the players around him improve. He is a proven distributor who consistently makes good decisions. A fair amount of his bad shooting comes at the end of the shot clock, and with better players around him and an increased tempo - he will get stuck with less shots late in the clock.

If Marcus does the dirty work, plays the best player on the other team, rebounds, dives for loose balls, and generally gives it his best every night - his shooting % tells only a small part of the story. Last season, he was the Celtics' leader in total loose balls recovered and deflections. He leads Boston in contested 3-point shots and, among the team's guards, he is tops in contested shots overall.

And Brad Stevens and his teammates trust him

“...I don’t even really think about it (his shooting %),” Stevens said. “I just want him to continue being a leader and being contagious and competing and his savvy’s really, really good and we’ve talked about that since he’s been here. He’s got an understanding and instincts that are just really special.”

I dont think he will ever be a star in the NBA by any means, but winning teams need winning players and you can’t teach effort, intensity, or heart. He makes 4.5 million this year and even if you triple that he is a bargain in the modern NBA - there is always room for a guy like Smart on my team.

I couldn't agree more. So what if he does improve a lot or a little? Then gets rewarded and goes right back to his present standards . Many on here will then bitch about that. He's never gonna get a max deal here or anywhere. I and apparently you mrkleen are not worried about his shooting. Sure I'd like to see it be better but I'd like to have a new vehicle ( mine has 210,000 miles on it) or say a nice trip to Hawaii. Neither of those are happening as Smarts shooting may be just what it is. Each year since he was drafted we have gotten better. And so what if ESPN says we'll win less games? (From another threat). Who now is believing them when in the recent past they have been very wrong. And many on here have gone off on them for various things multiple times.

We need the season to start for sure!

beat

beat,

2 weeks in Honolulu, 2nd half of January, airfare for two and hotel in Waikiki, $2400. Probably about the same for Kona on the big island.

mrkleen09 wrote:My take on this is there is only one ball - and Marcus wont be expected to shoot it much as the players around him improve. He is a proven distributor who consistently makes good decisions. A fair amount of his bad shooting comes at the end of the shot clock, and with better players around him and an increased tempo - he will get stuck with less shots late in the clock.

If Marcus does the dirty work, plays the best player on the other team, rebounds, dives for loose balls, and generally gives it his best every night - his shooting % tells only a small part of the story. Last season, he was the Celtics' leader in total loose balls recovered and deflections. He leads Boston in contested 3-point shots and, among the team's guards, he is tops in contested shots overall.

And Brad Stevens and his teammates trust him

“...I don’t even really think about it (his shooting %),” Stevens said. “I just want him to continue being a leader and being contagious and competing and his savvy’s really, really good and we’ve talked about that since he’s been here. He’s got an understanding and instincts that are just really special.”

I dont think he will ever be a star in the NBA by any means, but winning teams need winning players and you can’t teach effort, intensity, or heart. He makes 4.5 million this year and even if you triple that he is a bargain in the modern NBA - there is always room for a guy like Smart on my team.

I couldn't agree more. So what if he does improve a lot or a little? Then gets rewarded and goes right back to his present standards . Many on here will then bitch about that. He's never gonna get a max deal here or anywhere. I and apparently you mrkleen are not worried about his shooting. Sure I'd like to see it be better but I'd like to have a new vehicle ( mine has 210,000 miles on it) or say a nice trip to Hawaii. Neither of those are happening as Smarts shooting may be just what it is. Each year since he was drafted we have gotten better. And so what if ESPN says we'll win less games? (From another threat). Who now is believing them when in the recent past they have been very wrong. And many on here have gone off on them for various things multiple times.

We need the season to start for sure!

beat

beat,

2 weeks in Honolulu, 2nd half of January, airfare for two and hotel in Waikiki, $2400. Probably about the same for Kona on the big island.